Method for transmitting control information and apparatus for same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for transmitting uplink channel state information (CSI) in a wireless communication system that supports carrier aggregation, and to an apparatus for the method. The method for reporting CSI in a wireless communication system that supports carrier aggregation comprises the steps of: configuring a plurality of downlink component carriers (DL CCs); setting a CSI report mode on the plurality of DL CCs for each DL CC; and performing an operation for transmitting CSI according to the CSI report mode set on each DL CC. If a P-number of CSI overlap in the same subframe and a first condition is satisfied, a Q-number of CSI among the P-number of CSI are transmitted through a first physical channel, and if the P-number of SCI overlap in the same subframe and a second condition is satisfied, only an R-number of CSI among the P-number of CSI are transmitted through a second physical channel which is different from the first physical channel, wherein R is smaller than Q.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non provisional application is a National Stage entry under U.S.C.§371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2012/004598 filed on Jun.11, 2012, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos.61/495,388 filed on Jun. 10, 2011 and 61/554,478 filed on Nov. 1, 2011.The entire contents of all of the above applications are herebyincorporated by reference. This Application is a Reissue Application ofU.S. Pat. No. 9,167,576 issued on Oct. 20, 2015, which was filed as theNational Phase of PCT/KR2012/004598 on Jun. 11, 2012, which claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Nos.61/554,478 filed on Nov. 1, 2011 and 61/495,388 filed on Jun. 10, 2011,all of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into thepresent application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, andmore particularly, to a method for transmitting control information andan apparatus for the same.

BACKGROUND ART

A wireless communication system has been widely developed to providevarious kinds of communication services such as voice and data.Generally, the wireless communication system is a multiple access systemthat can support communication with multiple users by sharing availablesystem resources (bandwidth, transmission power, etc.). Examples of themultiple access system include a code division multiple access (CDMA)system, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, a timedivision multiple access (TDMA) system, an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) system, and a single carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) system.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

An object of the present invention devised to solve the conventionalproblem is to provide a method for efficiently transmitting controlinformation in a wireless communication system and an apparatus for thesame. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forefficiently transmitting uplink control information (for example,channel state information) and efficiently managing resources for theuplink control information in a system in which a plurality of carriersor cells are aggregated, and an apparatus for the same.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the objectsthat could be achieved with the present invention are not limited towhat has been particularly described hereinabove and the above and otherobjects that the present invention could achieve will be more clearlyunderstood from the following detailed description.

Technical Solution

In one aspect of the present invention, a method for reporting channelstate information (CSI) in a wireless communication system that supportscarrier aggregation comprises the steps of configuring a plurality ofdownlink component carriers (DL CCs); setting a CSI report mode on theplurality of DL CCs for each DL CC; and performing an operation fortransmitting CSI in accordance with the CSI report mode set on each DLCC, wherein, if a P-number of CSIs overlap with one another for the samesubframe and a first condition is satisfied, a Q-number of CSIs amongthe P-number of CSIs are transmitted through a first physical channel,and if the P-number of CSIs overlap with one another for the samesubframe and a second condition is satisfied, only an R-number of CSIsamong the P-number of CSI are transmitted through a second physicalchannel which is different from the first physical channel, R beingsmaller than Q.

In another aspect of the present invention, a communication apparatusconfigured to report channel state information (CSI) in a wirelesscommunication system that supports carrier aggregation comprises a radiofrequency (RF) unit; and a processor, wherein the processor configures aplurality of downlink component carriers (DL CCs), sets a CSI reportmode on the plurality of DL CCs for each DL CC, and performs anoperation for transmitting CSI in accordance with the CSI report modeset on each DL CC, and if a P-number of CSIs overlap with one anotherfor the same subframe and a first condition is satisfied, a Q-number ofCSIs among the P-number of CSIs are transmitted through a first physicalchannel, and if the P-number of CSIs overlap with one another for thesame subframe and a second condition is satisfied, only an R-number ofCSIs among the P-number of CSI are transmitted through a second physicalchannel which is different from the first physical channel, R beingsmaller than Q.

Preferably, the first condition includes that P is more than M, thesecond condition includes that P is less than M, P and Q are the same aseach other, and M is the minimum number of CSIs allowed for simultaneoustransmission through the first physical channel.

Preferably, the first condition includes that P is more than L, thesecond condition includes that P is less than M, P is greater than Q, Qis the same as L, L is the maximum number of CSIs allowed forsimultaneous transmission through the first physical channel, and M isthe minimum number of CSIs allowed for simultaneous transmission throughthe first physical channel.

Preferably, the first condition includes that a size sum of the P numberof CSIs is more than M, the second condition includes that a size sum ofthe P number of CSIs is less than M, P is the same as Q, R is the numberof CSIs, which has the highest priority among the P number of CSIs and asize sum of CSIs of maximum integer less than S, M is a minimum size ofCSI allowed for simultaneous transmission through the first physicalchannel, and S is an integer less than M determined in accordance withcapacity of the second physical channel.

Preferably, the first condition includes that a size sum of the P numberof CSIs is more than L, the second condition includes that a size sum ofthe P number of CSIs is less than M, P is greater than Q, Q is thenumber of CSIs, which has the highest priority among the P number ofCSIs and a size sum of CSIs of maximum integer less than L, R is thenumber of CSIs, which has the highest priority among the P number ofCSIs and a size sum of CSIs of maximum integer less than S, L is amaximum size of CSI allowed for simultaneous transmission through thefirst physical channel, M is a minimum size of CSI allowed forsimultaneous transmission through the first physical channel, and S isan integer less than M determined in accordance with capacity of thesecond physical channel.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, control information may efficientlybe transmitted in the wireless communication system. In more detail,uplink control information (for example, channel state information) mayefficiently be transmitted in a system where a plurality of carriers orcells are aggregated, and resources for the uplink control informationmay be managed efficiently.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that that theeffects that could be achieved with the present invention are notlimited to what has been particularly described hereinabove and otheradvantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood fromthe following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating physical channels used in a 3GPP systemand a general method for transmitting a signal using the physicalchannels;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a radio frame;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a resource grid of a downlink slot;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a downlink subframe;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an uplink subframe;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a slot level of PUCCHformats 1/1a/1b;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a slot level of PUCCHformats 2/2a/2b;

FIGS. 8 to 11 are diagrams illustrating periodic report of channel stateinformation on a single carrier or cell;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a carrier aggregation (CA)communication system;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating cross-carrier scheduling;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are diagrams illustrating an enhanced-PUCCH (E-PUCCH)format (that is, PUCCH format 3);

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of CSI report according tothe related art when a plurality of carriers or cells are aggregated;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of CSI report according tothe embodiment of the present invention when a plurality of carriers orcells are aggregated; and

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a base station and a user equipment,which can be applied to one embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following technology may be used for various wireless accesstechnologies such as CDMA (code division multiple access), FDMA(frequency division multiple access), TDMA (time division multipleaccess), OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access), andSC-FDMA (single carrier frequency division multiple access). The CDMAmay be implemented by the radio technology such as UTRA (universalterrestrial radio access) or CDMA2000. The TDMA may be implemented bythe radio technology such as global system for mobile communications(GSM)/general packet radio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rates for GSMevolution (EDGE). The OFDMA may be implemented by the radio technologysuch as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, andevolved UTRA (E-UTRA). The UTRA is a part of a universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS). A 3^(rd) generation partnershipproject long term evolution (3GPP LTE) is a part of an evolved UMTS(E-UMTS) that uses E-UTRA, and adopts OFDMA in a downlink and SC-FDMA inan uplink. LTE-advanced (LTE-A) is an evolved version of the 3GPP LTE.

For clarification of the description, the following embodiments will bedescribed based on that technical features of the present invention areapplied to the 3GPP LTE/LTE-A. However, it is to be understood that thetechnical spirits of the present invention are not limited to the 3GPPLTE/LTE-A. Also, specific terminologies used hereinafter are provided toassist understanding of the present invention, and various modificationsmay be made in the specific terminologies within the range that does notdepart from the technical spirits of the present invention.

In a wireless communication system, a user equipment receivesinformation from a base station through a downlink (DL), and alsotransmits information to the base station through an uplink (UL).Examples of information transmitted from or received in the base stationand the user equipment include data and various kinds of controlinformation, and various physical channels exist depending on a type andusage of the information transmitted from or received in the basestation and the user equipment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating physical channels used in a 3GPP LTEsystem and a general method for transmitting a signal using the physicalchannels.

The user equipment performs initial cell search such as synchronizingwith the base station when it newly enters a cell or the power is turnedon at step S101. To this end, the user equipment synchronizes with thebase station by receiving a primary synchronization channel (P-SCH) anda secondary synchronization channel (S-SCH) from the base station, andacquires information such as cell ID, etc.

Afterwards, the user equipment may acquire broadcast information withinthe cell by receiving a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) from the basestation. Meanwhile, the user equipment may identify a downlink channelstatus by receiving a downlink reference signal (DL RS) at the initialcell search step.

The user equipment which has finished the initial cell search mayacquire more detailed system information by receiving a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH) in accordance with a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) and information carried in the PDCCH at stepS102.

Afterwards, the user equipment may perform a random access procedure(RACH) such as steps S103 to S106 to complete access to the basestation. To this end, the user equipment may transmit a preamble througha physical random access channel (PRACH) (S103), and may receive aresponse message to the preamble through the PDCCH and the PDSCHcorresponding to the PDCCH (S104). In case of a contention based RACH,the user equipment may perform a contention resolution procedure such astransmission (S105) of additional physical random access channel andreception (S106) of the physical downlink control channel and thephysical downlink shared channel corresponding to the physical downlinkcontrol channel.

The user equipment which has performed the aforementioned steps mayreceive the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)/physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) (S107) and transmit a physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (S108), asa general procedure of transmitting uplink/downlink signals. Controlinformation transmitted from the user equipment to the base station willbe referred to as uplink control information (UCI). The UCI includesHARQ ACK/NACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat and reQuestAcknowledgement/Negative-ACK), SR (Scheduling Request), CQI (ChannelQuality Information), a PMI (Precoding Matrix Indicator), RI (RankIndication), etc. Although the UCI is periodically transmitted throughthe PUCCH in the LTE system, it may be transmitted through the PUSCH ifcontrol information and traffic data should be transmitted at the sametime. Also, the user equipment may non-periodically transmit the UCIthrough the PUSCH in accordance with request/command of the network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a radio frame. The radioframe includes a plurality of subframes, each of which includes aplurality of OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols. The 3GPP LTE(-A) standard supportsa type 1 radio frame structure for frequency division duplex (FDD) and atype 2 radio frame structure for time division duplex (TDD).

FIG. 2(a) is a diagram illustrating a structure of a type 1 radio frame.The downlink radio frame includes 10 subframes, each of which includestwo slots in a time domain. For example, one subframe may have a lengthof 1 ms, and one slot may have a length of 0.5 ms. One slot includes aplurality of OFDM symbols or a plurality of SC-FDMA symbols in a timedomain, and includes a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) in a frequencydomain. The 3GPP LTE(-A) system uses OFDMA on a downlink and SC-FDMA onan uplink.

FIG. 2(b) is a diagram illustrating a structure of a type 2 radio frame.The type 2 radio frame includes two half frames, each of which includesfour normal subframes and one special subframe. The special subframeincludes a downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS), a guard period (GP), and anuplink pilot time slot (UpPTS). The DwPTS is used for initial cellsearch, synchronization or channel estimation at the user equipment. TheUpPTS is used to synchronize channel estimation at the base station withuplink transmission of the user equipment. Also, the guard periodprovides switching time between UL transmission and DL transmission.Each normal subframe within the radio frame is used for UL transmissionor DL transmission in accordance with uplink-downlink (UL-DL)configuration.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a resource grid of a downlink slot. Astructure of an uplink slot is the same as that of the downlink slotexcept that OFDM symbols are replaced with SC-FDMA symbols.

Referring to FIG. 3, the downlink slot includes a plurality of OFDMsymbols in a time domain. The downlink slot may include seven (six) OFDMsymbols, and a resource block may include twelve subcarriers in afrequency domain. Each element on the resource grid will be referred toas a resource element (RE). One resource block (RB) includes 12×7(6)resource elements. The number N_(RB) of resource blocks (RBs) includedin the downlink slot depends on a downlink transmission bandwidth.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a downlink subframe.

Referring to FIG. 4, maximum three (four) OFDM symbols located at thefront of the first slot of the subframe correspond to a control regionto which a control channel is allocated. The other OFDM symbolscorrespond to a data region to which a physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) is allocated. Examples of the downlink control channel used inthe LTE include a PCFICH (Physical Control Format Indicator CHannel), aPDCCH (Physical Downlink Control CHannel), and a PHICH (Physical HybridARQ Indicator CHannel). The PCFICH is transmitted at the first OFDMsymbol of the subframe, and carries information on the number of OFDMsymbols used for transmission of the control channel within thesubframe. The PHICH carries HARQ ACK/NACK(acknowledgement/negative-acknowledgement) signal in response to uplinktransmission. The PDCCH carries transport format and resource allocationinformation of a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), transport format andresource allocation information of an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH),paging information on a paging channel (PCH), system information on theDL-SCH, resource allocation information of upper layer control messagesuch as random access response transmitted on the PDSCH, a set oftransmission power control commands of individual user equipments (UEs)within a user equipment group, a transmission power control command,activity indication information of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP),etc.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an uplink subframe in anLTE system.

Referring to FIG. 5, the uplink subframe includes a plurality of slots(for example, two). Each slot may include a plurality of SC-FDMAsymbols, wherein the number of SC-FDMA symbols included in each slot isvaried depending on a cyclic prefix (CP) length. The uplink subframe isdivided into a data region and a control region in a frequency domain.The data region includes a PUSCH, and is used to transmit a data signalsuch as voice. The control region includes a PUCCH, and is used totransmit uplink control information (UCI). The PUCCH includes RB pairlocated at both ends of the data region on a frequency axis, andperforms hopping on the border of the slots.

The PUCCH may be used to transmit the following control information.

-   -   SR (Scheduling Request): is information used to request uplink        UL-SCH resource. The SR is transmitted using an on-off keying        (OOK) system.    -   HARQ ACK/NACK: is a response signal to a downlink data packet on        the PDSCH. It represents whether the downlink data packet has        been successfully received. ACK/NACK 1 bit is transmitted in        response to a single downlink codeword (CW), and ACK/NACK 2 bits        are transmitted in response to two downlink codewords.    -   CSI (Channel State Information): is feedback information on a        downlink channel. The CSI includes a channel quality indicator        (CQI), a rank indicator (RI), a precoding matrix indicator        (PMI), and a precoding type indicator (PTI). 20 bits are used        per subframe.

The quantity of the uplink control information (UCI) that may betransmitted from the user equipment for the subframe depends on thenumber of SC-FDMA symbols available for control informationtransmission. The SC-FDMA symbols available for control informationtransmission mean the remaining SC-FDMA symbols except for SC-FDMAsymbols for reference signal transmission for the subframe, and the lastSC-FDMA symbol of the subframe is excluded in case of the subframe forwhich a sounding reference signal (SRS) is set. The reference signal isused for coherent detection of the PUCCH. The PUCCH supports sevenformats in accordance with information which is transmitted.

Table 1 illustrates a mapping relation between the PUCCH format and theUCI in the LTE(-A) system.

TABLE 1 PUCCH format Uplink control information (UCI) Format 1 SR(Scheduling Request) (non-modulated waveform) Format 1a 1-bit HARQACK/NACK with/without SR Format 1b 2-bit HARQ ACK/NACK with/without SRFormat 2 CSI (20 coded bits) Format 2 CSI and 1- or 2-bit HARQ ACK/NACK(20 bits) for extended CP only Format 2a CSI and 1-bit HARQ ACK/NACK(20 + 1 coded bits) Format 2b CSI and 2-bit HARQ ACK/NACK (20 + 2 codedbits) Format 3 HARQ ACK/NACK (+SR) (48 bits) (LTE-A)

Since the LTE user equipment cannot transmit the PUCCH and the PUSCH atthe same time, if UCI (for example, CQI/PMI, HARQ-ACK, RI, etc.)transmission is required for the subframe for which the PUSCH istransmitted, the user equipment multiplexes the UCI in the PUSCH region.For example, if the user equipment should transmit HARQ-ACK for thesubframe for which PUSCH transmission is allocated, the user equipmentmultiplexes UL-SCH data and HARQ-ACK before DFT-spreading and thentransmits control information and data through the PUSCH.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a slot level of PUCCHformats 1/1a/1b. The PUCCH format 1 is used for SR transmission, and thePUCCH formats 1a/1b are used for ACK/NACK transmission. In case ofnormal CP, SC-FDMA #2/#3/#4 are used for transmission of DM RS(Demodulation Reference Signal). In case of extended CP, SC-FDMA #2/#3are used for transmission of DM RS.

Referring to FIG. 6, ACK/NACK information of 1 bit and ACK/NACKinformation of 2 bits are respectively modulated in accordance with abinary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme and a quadraturephase shift keying (QPSK) modulation scheme, and one ACK/NACK modulationsymbol (d₀) is generated. The ACK/NACK information is set to 1 in caseof positive ACK, whereas the ACK/NACK information is set to 0 in case ofnegative ACK (NACK). A cyclic shift (CS) (α_(cs,x)) is applied to thePUCCH formats 1a/1b in the frequency domain, and orthogonal spreadingcodes (for example, Walsh-Hadamard or DFT codes) w₀,w₁,w₂,w₃ are appliedthereto in the time time domain. In case of the PUCCH formats 1a/1b,since code multiplexing is used in both the frequency domain and thetime domain, more user equipments may be multiplexed on the same PUCCHRB.

The RS transmitted from different user equipments are multiplexed usingthe same method as that of the UCI. The number of cyclic shiftssupported by the SC-FDMA symbols for PUCCH ACK/NACK RB may be configuredby a cell-specific higher layer signaling parameter Δ_(shift) ^(PUCCH).Δ_(shift) ^(PUCCH) ∈{1, 2, 3} represents that shift values are 12, 6 and4, respectively. The number of spreading codes that may actually be usedfor ACK/NACK in time-domain CDM may be limited by the number of RSsymbols. This is because that multiplexing capacity of the RS symbols issmaller than that of UCI symbols due to a small number of RS symbols.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a slot level of PUCCHformats 2/2a/2b. The PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b are used for CSI (channelstate information) transmission. The CSI includes CQI, PMI, RI, etc. Incase of normal cyclic prefix (CP), SC-FDMA #1 and #5 are used fortransmission of demodulation reference signal (DM RS) within the slot.In case of extended CP, SC-FDMA symbol (LB) #3 is only used fortransmission of the DM RS within the slot.

Referring to FIG. 7, CCI of 10 bits is channel coded to 20 coded bitsusing rate ½ punctured (20, k) Reed-Muller codes at a subframe level(not shown). Afterwards, the coded bits are mapped into quadrature phaseshift keying (QPSK) constellation (QPSK modulation) through scramble(not shown). Scramble may be performed using length-31 gold sequencesimilarly to PUSCH data. Ten QPSK modulation symbols are generated andfive QPSK modulation symbols d₀˜d₄ are transmitted from each slotthrough corresponding SC-FDMA symbols. Each of the QPSK modulationsymbols is used to modulate a length-12 base RS sequence (r_(u,O)) priorto inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT). Consequently, the RS sequenceis cyclic-shifted in the time domain in accordance with the values ofthe QPSK modulation symbols (d_(x)*r_(u,O), x=0˜4). The RS sequencemultiplied by the QPSK modulation symbols is cyclic-shifted (α_(cs,x),x=1, 5). If the number of cyclic shifts is N, N number of userequipments may be multiplexed on the same CSI PUCCH RB.

FIGS. 8 to 11 are diagrams illustrating periodic report of channel stateinformation on a single carrier or cell. In other words, FIGS. 8 to 11illustrate periodic report of channel state information on a singlecarrier or cell. Parameters/resources for periodic report of the CSI(for example, CQI) are configured semi-statically by higher layer (forexample, RRC (radio resource control)) signaling. For example, if aPUCCH resource index n_(PUCCH) ⁽²⁾ is set for CSI transmission, the CSIis transmitted periodically on a CSI PUCCH linked with the PUCCHresource index n_(PUCCH) ⁽²⁾. The PUCCH resource index n_(PUCCH) ⁽²⁾indicates cyclic shift (α_(cs)) and PUCCH RB.

Referring to FIG. 8, four types of CQI report modes exist in the LTEsystem. In more detail, the CQI report modes may be divided into awideband (WB) CQI report mode and a subband (SB) CQI mode in accordancewith CQI feedback type, and may be divided into a non-PMI report modeand a single PMI report mode in accordance with PMI transmission. Eachuser equipment receives information obtained by combination of periodand offset through RRC signaling to periodically report CQI.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of channel state information transmittedif information indicating {period ‘5’, offset ‘1’} is signaled to theuser equipment. Referring to FIG. 9, if information indicating a periodof ‘5’ and offset of ‘1’ is signaled to the user equipment, the userequipment transmits the channel state information in a unit of fivesubframes at offset of a subframe in an increasing direction of subframeindex from the 0^(th) subframe. Although the channel state informationis basically transmitted through the PUCCH, if the PUSCH for datatransmission exists at the same time, the channel state information istransmitted together with data through the PUSCH. The subframe index iscomprised by combination of system frame number n_(f) and slot index(n_(s), 0˜19). Since the subframe includes two slots, the subframe indexmay be defined as 10*n_(f)+floor(n_(s)/2). floor( )represents a floorfunction.

There exist a type for transmitting WB CQI only and a type fortransmitting both WB CQI and SB CQI. In case of the type fortransmitting WB CQI only, CQI for the entire band is transmitted for asubframe corresponding to every CQI transmission period. Meanwhile, asshown in FIG. 8, if PMI should be transmitted in accordance with a PMIfeedback type, PMI information is transmitted together with CQI. In caseof the type for transmitting WB CQI and SB CQI, WB CQI and SB CQI aretransmitted alternately.

FIG. 10 illustrates a system of which system band includes 16 RBs. Inthis case, it is assumed that the system band includes two bandwidthparts (BPs) (BP0, BP1), each of which includes two subbands (SBs) (SB0,SB1), each of which includes four RBs. This assumption is exemplary fordescription, wherein the number of BPs and a size of each BP may bevaried depending on the size of the system band. Also, the number of SBsconstituting each BP may be varied depending on the number of RBs, thenumber of BPs and the size of the SB.

In case of the type for transmitting both WB CQI and SB CQI, WB CQI istransmitted for the first CQI transmission subframe, and CQI of SBhaving good channel status from SB0 and SB1, which belong to BP0, andindex of the corresponding SB are transmitted for next CQI transmissionsubframe. Afterwards, CQI of SB having good channel status from SB0 andSB1, which belong to BP1, and index of the corresponding SB aretransmitted for next CQI transmission subframe. In this way, after WBCQI is transmitted, CQI for each BP is transmitted in due order. CQI foreach BP may be transmitted in due order once to four times between twoWB CQIs. For example, if CQI is transmitted in due order once betweentwo WB CQIs, the CQI may be transmitted in the order of WB CQI⇒ BP0 CQI⇒BP1 CQI⇒ WB CQI. Also, if CQI is transmitted in due order four timesbetween two WB CQIs, the CQI may be transmitted in the order of WB CQI⇒BP0 CQI⇒ BP1 CQI⇒ BP0 CQI⇒ BP1 CQI⇒ BP0 CQI⇒ BP1 CQI⇒ BP0 CQI⇒ BP1 CQI⇒WB CQI. Information as to how many times CQI for each BP is transmittedin due order is signaled from a higher layer (for example, RRC layer).

FIG. 11(a) illustrates that both WB CQI and SB CQI are transmitted ifinformation indicating {period of ‘5’, offset of ‘1’} is signaled to theuser equipment. Referring to FIG. 11(a), CQI may be transmitted for thesubframe only corresponding to the signaled period and offset regardlessof a type. FIG. 11(b) illustrates that RI is additionally transmitted incase of FIG. 11(a). RI may be signaled from the higher layer (forexample, RRC layer) by combination of a transmission period indicatingwhat multiple of WB CQI transmission period is used to transmit RI andoffset at the transmission period of RI. Offset of RI is signaled at arelative value of offset of CQI. For example, if offset of CQI is ‘1’and offset of RI is ‘0’, RI has the same offset as that of CQI. Theoffset of RI is defined by 0 and a value of a negative number. In moredetail, in FIG. 11(b), it is assumed that the transmission period of RIis one time of the transmission period of WB CQI and the offset of RI is‘−1’ in the same environment as that of FIG. 11(a). Since thetransmission period of RI is one time of the transmission period of WBCQI, the transmission period of the channel state information issubstantially the same. Since the offset of RI is ‘−1’, RI istransmitted on the basis of ‘−1’ (that is, 0^(th) subframe) for offset‘1’ of CQI in FIG. 11(a). If the offset of RI is ‘0’, transmissionsubframes of WB CQI and RI are overlapped with each other. In this case,WB CQI is dropped and RI is transmitted.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a carrier aggregation (CA)communication system. The LTE-A system uses the carrier aggregationtechnology or the bandwidth aggregation technology, which uses greateruplink/downlink bandwidth through a plurality of uplink/downlinkfrequency blocks, to use wider frequency bandwidth. Each frequency blockis transmitted using a component carrier (CC). The component carrier maybe understood as carrier frequency (or center carrier or centerfrequency) for a corresponding frequency block.

Referring to FIG. 12, a plurality of uplink/downlink component carriers(CC) may be collected to support wider uplink/downlink bandwidth. Therespective CCs may adjoin each other or not in the frequency domain. Abandwidth of each component carrier may be defined independently.Asymmetric carrier aggregation where the number of UL CCs is differentfrom the number of DL CCs may be performed. For example, if the numberof DL CCs is 2 and the number of UL CCs is 1, carrier aggregation may beconfigured to correspond to 2:1. DL CC/UL CC links may be fixed to thesystem or may be configured semi-statically. Also, even though a systemfull band includes N number of CCs, a frequency band that may bemonitored and received by a specific user equipment may be limited toM(<N) number of CCs. Meanwhile, the control information may be set to betransmitted and received through a specific CC only. This specific CCmay be referred to as a primary CC (PCC) (or anchor CC), and the otherCCs may be referred to as secondary CCs (SCC).

The LTE-A system uses a concept of cell to manage radio resources. Thecell is defined by combination of downlink resources and uplinkresources, wherein the uplink resources may be defined selectively.Accordingly, the cell may be configured by downlink resources only, ormay be configured by downlink resources and uplink resources. If carrieraggregation is supported, linkage between carrier frequency (or DL CC)of the downlink resources and carrier frequency (or UL CC) of the uplinkresources may be indicated by system information. The cell operated onthe primary frequency (or PCC) may be referred to as a primary cell(PCell), and the cell operated on the secondary frequency (or SCC) maybe referred to as a primary cell (PCell). The PCell is used such thatthe user equipment performs an initial connection establishmentprocedure or connection re-establishment procedure. The PCell may referto a cell indicated during a handover procedure. The Scell may beconfigured after RRC connection is established, and may be used toprovide an additional radio resource. The Pcell and the Scell may bereferred to as serving cells. Accordingly, although the user equipmentis in RRC-CONNECTED state, if it is not set by carrier aggregation ordoes not support carrier aggregation, a single serving cell configuredby the P cell only exists. On the other hand, if the user equipment isin the RRC-CONNECTED state and is set by carrier aggregation, one ormore serving cells may exist, wherein the serving cells may include thePcell and full Scells. After an initial security activity procedurestarts, for the user equipment supporting carrier aggregation, thenetwork may configure one or more Scells in addition to the Pcellinitially configured during a connection establishment procedure.

If cross-carrier scheduling (or cross-CC scheduling) is used, the PDCCHfor downlink allocation is transmitted to DL CC#0, and the correspondingPDSCH may be transmitted to DL CC#2. For cross-carrier scheduling, theintroduction of a carrier indicator field (CIF) may be considered. Thepresence of CIF within the PDCCH may be configured by higher layersignaling (for example, RRC signaling) semi-statically so and userequipment-specifically. The base lines of PDCCH transmission will besummed up as follows.

-   -   CIF disabled: the PDCCH on the DL CC allocates PDSCH resource on        the same DL CC or PUSCH resource on one linked UL CC.    -   CIF enabled: the PDCCH on the DL CC may allocate PDSCH or PUSCH        resource on a specific DL/UL CC among a plurality of aggregated        DL/UL CCs by using the CIF.

If the CIF exists, the base station may allocate a PDCCH monitoring DLcell set to reduce complexity of blind decoding (BD) in view of the userequipment. The PDCCH monitoring DL cell set includes one or more DL CCsas a part of the aggregated DL CCs, and the user equipment detects anddecodes the PDCCH on the corresponding DL CC only. In other words, ifthe base station schedules the PDSCH/PUSCH to the user equipment, thePDCCH is transmitted through the PDCCH monitoring DL CC set only. ThePDCCH monitoring DL CC set may be configured userequipment-specifically, user equipment group-specifically orcell-specifically. The terms “PDCCH monitoring DL CC” may be replacedwith the equivalent terms such as monitoring carrier and monitoringcell. Also, the CCs aggregated for the user equipment may be replacedwith the equivalent terms such as serving CCs, serving carriers, andserving cells.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating scheduling when a plurality ofcarriers are aggregated. It is assumed that three DL cells areaggregated. It is also assumed that DL CC A is set to a PDCCH monitoringDL CC. DL CC A to DL CC C may be referred to as serving CCs, servingcarriers, serving cells, etc. If the CIF is disabled, each DL CC maytransmit the PDCCH only that schedules PDSCH of the DL CC without CIF inaccordance with the LTE PDCCH rule. On the other hand, if the CIF isenabled, the DL CC A (monitoring DL CC) may transmit the PDCCH, whichschedules the PDSCH of another CC, as well as the PDCCH, which schedulesthe PDSCH of the DL CCA. In this case, the PDCCH is not transmitted fromthe DL CC B/C which is not set to the PDCCH monitoring DL CC.

In the LTE-A system, a new type enhanced PUCCH format (E-PUCCH format)(that is, PUCCH format 3) has been introduced for transmission of moreACK/NACK signals.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating E-PUCCH format (that is, PUCCH format3) of a slot level. A plurality of kinds of ACK/NACK information istransmitted through joint coding (for example, Reed-Muller code,Tail-biting convolutional code, etc.), block-spreading and SC-FDMAmodulation.

Referring to FIG. 14, one symbol sequence is transmitted over thefrequency domain, and orthogonal cover code (OCC) based time-domainspreading is applied to the corresponding symbol sequence. Controlsignals of several user equipments may be multiplexed into the same RBby using the OCC. In more detail, five SC-FDMA symbols (that is, UCIdata part) are generated from one symbol sequence {d1, d2, . . . } byusing OCCs C1 to C5 of a length-5 (SF (spreading factor)=5). In thiscase, the symbol sequence {d1, d2, . . . } may mean a modulation symbolsequence or codeword bit sequence. If the symbol sequence {d1, d2, . . .} means a codeword bit sequence, the block diagram of FIG. 9 furtherincludes a modulation block. Although a total of two RS symbols (thatis, RS part) are used for one slot in the drawing, various applicationsmay be considered in such a manner that RS part of three RS symbols isused and UCI data part based on OCC of SF=4 is used. In this case, theRS symbols may be generated from constant amplitude zero autocorrelation(CAZAC) sequences having a specific cyclic shift. Also, the RS may betransmitted in a format in which a specific OCC is applied to(multiplied by) a plurality of RS symbols of the time domain.

FIG. 15 illustrates E-PUCCH format (that is, PUCCH format 3) at asubframe level.

Referring to FIG. 15, symbol sequences {d′0 to d′11} in a slot 0 aremapped into subcarrier of one SC-FDMA symbol and mapped into fiveSC-FDMA symbols by block-spreading based on OCCs C1 to C5. Similarly,symbol sequences {d′12 to d′23} in a slot 1 are mapped into subcarrierof one SC-FDMA symbol and mapped into five SC-FDMA symbols byblock-spreading based on OCCs C1 to C5. In this case, the symbolsequences {d′0 to d′11} or the symbol sequences {d′12 to d′23} shown ineach slot represent the format in which FFT or FFT/IFFT is applied tothe symbol sequences {d1, d2, . . . } of FIG. 10. If the symbolsequences {d′0 to d′11} or {d′12 to d′23} corresponds to the format inwhich FFT is applied to the symbol sequences {d1, d2, . . . } of FIG. 9,IFFT is additionally applied to the symbol sequences {d′0 to d′11} or{d′12 to d′23} to generate SC-FDMA symbols. The total symbol sequences{d′0 to d′23} are generated by joint coding of one or more UCI, and thefirst half {d′0 to d′11} is transmitted through the slot 0, and theother half {d′12 to d′23} is transmitted through the slot 1. Althoughnot shown, the OCC may be varied in a unit of slot, and UCI data may bescrambled in a unit of SC-FDMA symbol.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of CSI report according tothe related art when a plurality of carriers or cells are aggregated.

Referring to FIG. 16, the LTE-A supports aggregation of a plurality ofCCs (or cells) (see FIG. 13) (S1602), and a periodic CSI report mode maybe set independently per CC (for example, in accordance withtransmission mode) (S1604). Under the circumstances, if CSI reportsubframes are overlapped with one another in the plurality of CCs(S1606), (regardless of transmis sion based on PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b ortransmission based on piggyback to the PUSCH) CSI for a specific one ofthe plurality of CCs is only transmitted through the correspondingsubframe, and CSI for the other CCs is dropped (S1608). One CSI (or oneCC which will be a target for CSI transmission) which will be a targetfor transmission may be determined through Step 1 or Step 2 as follows.

Step 1) If only one CSI (CC) has the highest CSI type priority,corresponding CSI (for CC) is only transmitted.

Step 2) If a plurality of CSI (CC) have the highest CSI type priority,CSI for CC having the lowest ServCellIndex of the plurality of CCs isonly transmitted.

In this case, the CSI type is given as follows, and the priority may begiven in the order of CSI type 3, 5, 6, 2a (that is, 1^(st) CSItype)>CSI type 2, 2b, 2c, 4 (that is, r^(nd) CSI type)>CSI type 1, 1a(that is, 3^(rd) CSI type).

-   -   Type 1 report supports CQI feedback for the UE selected        sub-bands    -   Type 1a report supports subband CQI and second PMI feedback    -   Type 2, Type 2b, and Type 2c report supports wideband CQI and        PMI feedback    -   Type 2a report supports wideband PMI feedback    -   Type 3 report supports RI feedback    -   Type 4 report supports wideband CQI    -   Type 5 report supports RI and wideband PMI feedback    -   Type 6 report supports RI and PTI feedback

In the meantime, CSI transmission timing points are not overlapped witheach other at two or more CCs (that is, if CSI transmission for one CCis required for the corresponding subframe), CSI for the correspondingCC is transmitted through the corresponding subframe (S1610).

If periodic CSI report for the plurality of CCs is performed through theaforementioned related art method, resources (that is, overhead)required for CSI transmission may be reduced. However, a problem mayoccur in accuracy and efficiency of channel estimation and schedulingdue to dropped CSIs in a state that CSI report subframes for theplurality of CCs are overlapped with one another. In this respect, theremay be considered a method for simultaneously transmitting a pluralityof CSIs for a plurality of CCs by using UL channel/format, which maysupport payload relatively greater than that of the existing PUCCHformats 2/2a/2b. For convenience, UL channel/format for transmission ofa plurality of CSIs will be referred to as UL channel/format X. The ULchannel/format may be, but not limited to, PUSCH or PUCCH format 3, ornew UL channel/format which is similar to the PUSCH or PUCCH format 3.Hereinafter, unless mentioned specifically, the UL channel/format X maybe used to refer to the PUSCH or PUCCH format 3. Resources for the ULchannel/format X may previously be allocated to the user equipmentthrough higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling). Meanwhile,if CSI transmission is performed using the UL channel/format X (forexample, PUSCH or PUCCH format 3 for transmission of a plurality ofCSIs) without considering the number/amount of CSIs to be transmittedand CSI type, efficiency in use of UL resources may be reduced.

Accordingly, the present invention suggests a method for simultaneouslytransmitting a plurality of CSIs for a plurality of CCs on the basis ofPUSCH or PUCCH format 3 (simply referred to as PUSCH or PUCCHF3) byconsidering the number/amount of CSIs of which transmission is requiredthrough CSI report subframe, CSI type, UL data, and ACK/NACK. Forconvenience, it is assumed that the priority based on the CSI type whichis used is given by the order of CSI type 3, 5, 6, 2a (that is, 1^(st)CSI type)>CSI type 2, 2b, 2c, 4 (that is, 2^(nd) CSI type)>CSI type 1,1a (that is, 3^(rd) CSI type), as described with reference to FIG. 16.However, this priority is exemplary, and the CSI type applied to thepresent invention and the CSI priority based on the CSI type may bevaried depending on the communication environment. The CSI type appliedto the present invention and the CSI priority based on the CSI type mayinclude, but not limited to, a CSI type of a specific use such ascooperative multi-point (CoMP) CSI feedback and a CSI prioritycorresponding to the CoMP CSI feedback.

Method 1: Limitation of the Number of CSIs (the Number of CCs for CSITransmission) which are Simultaneously Transmitted

For example, the number of minimum CSIs (CCs), which may be transmittedusing PUSCH or PUCCHF3, may be limited to M. In this case, if the numberof CSIs (CCs) of which transmission is required through CSI reportsubframe is N_(CSI), the following operation may be defined. Forexample, M may be, but not limited to, 2 (M=2).

i) In case of N_(CSI)≥M (CSI initially transmitted under thecorresponding condition will be referred to as “CSI 1-1”)

-   -   simultaneous transmission of the corresponding N_(CSI) CSIs (for        CCs) by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3.

ii) In case of N_(CSI)<M (CSI initially transmitted under thecorresponding condition will be referred to as “CSI 1-2”)

-   -   one CSI (for CC) determined on the basis of Step 1 or 2 is only        transmitted using PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b, or all the CSIs are        dropped (in this case, separate PUCCH format 2/2a/2b allocation        may not be required).

For another example, the number of maximum CSIs (CCs), which may betransmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3, may be limited to L. In this case,the following operation may be defined in accordance with N_(CSI).

i) In case of N_(CSI)≤L

-   -   simultaneous transmission of the corresponding N_(CSI) CSIs (for        CCs) by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3.

ii) In case of N_(CSI)>L

-   -   transmission of L number of CSIs (for CCs) having the highest        priority using PUSCH or PUCCHF3 on the basis of Step 1 or 2

For another example, the number of minimum and maximum CSIs, which maybe transmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3 by combination of the above twomethods, may be limited to M and L, respectively. In this case, thefollowing operation may be defined.

i) In case of N_(CSI)>L

-   -   transmission of L number of CSIs (for CCs) having the highest        priority using PUSCH or PUCCHF3 on the basis of Step 1 or 2

ii) In case of L≥N_(CSI)≥M

-   -   simultaneous transmission of the corresponding N_(CSI) CSIs (for        CCs) by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3

iii) N_(CSI)<M

-   -   one CSI (for CC) determined on the basis of Step 1 or 2 is only        transmitted using PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b, or all the CSIs are        dropped (in this case, separate PUCCH format 2/2a/2b allocation        may not be required).

In this case, the parameters M and L may be set UE-commonly orUE-specifically through broadcast or layer 1 (L1)/layer 2 (L2)/radioresource control (RRC) signaling.

The aforementioned description illustrates that CSI transmission isperformed using two types of physical channels. Similarly, the CSItransmission channels may be determined in the order of PUCCH formats2/2a/2b=>PUCCH format 3=>PUSCH in accordance with the number of CSI CCs.

Method 2: Limitation of the Number A11 CSI Bits which are SimultaneouslyTransmitted

For example, the number of minimum CSI bits, which may be transmittedusing PUSCH or PUCCHF3, may be limited to K. In this case, if the numberof all the CSI bits of which transmission is required through the CSIreport subframe is O_(CSI), the following operation may be defined. Forexample, K may be, but not limited to, 12 (K=12).

i) In case of O_(CSI)≥K (CSI initially transmitted under thecorresponding condition will be referred to as “CSI 2-1”)

-   -   simultaneous transmission of the corresponding O_(CSI) CSI bits        by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3.

ii) In case of O_(CSI)<K (CSI initially transmitted under thecorresponding condition will be referred to as “CSI 2-2”)

-   -   X number of CSIs (for CC) having the highest priority on the        basis of Step 1 or 2 and a total of CSI bits of maximum integer        less than 11 are only transmitted using PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b,        or all the CSIs are dropped (in this case, separate PUCCH format        2/2a/2b allocation may not be required).

For another example, the number of maximum CSIs (CCs), which may betransmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3, may be limited to H. In this case,the following operation may be defined in accordance with O_(CSI).

i) In case of O_(CSI)≤H

-   -   simultaneous transmission of the corresponding O_(CSI) CSIs (for        CCs) by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3.

ii) In case of O_(CSI)>H

-   -   transmission of Y number of CSIs (for CCs) having the highest        priority on the basis of Step 1 or 2 and a total of CSI bits of        maximum integer less than H by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3

For another example, the number of minimum and maximum CSIs, which maybe transmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3 by combination of the above twomethods, may be limited to K and H, respectively. In this case, thefollowing operation may be defined.

i) In case of O_(CSI)>L

-   -   transmission of Y number of CSIs (for CCs) having the highest        priority on the basis of Step 1 or 2 and a total of CSI bits of        maximum integer less than H by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3

ii) In case of H≥O_(CSI)≥K

-   -   simultaneous transmission of the corresponding O_(CSI) CSI bits        by using PUSCH or PUCCHF3

iii) O_(CSI)<K

-   -   X number of CSIs (for CC) having the highest priority on the        basis of Step 1 or 2 and a total of CSI bits of maximum integer        less than 11 are only transmitted using PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b,        or all the CSIs are dropped (in this case, separate PUCCH format        2/2a/2b allocation may not be required).

In this case, the parameters K and H may be set UE-commonly orUE-specifically through broadcast or L1/L2/RRC signaling.

The aforementioned description illustrates that CSI transmission isperformed using two types of physical channels. Similarly, the CSItransmission channels may be determined in the order of PUCCH formats2/2a/2b=>PUCCH format 3=>PUSCH in accordance with the number of CSIbits.

Method 3: Feedback of a Plurality of CSIs (CCs) Having the Highest CSIType Priority in Step 2

In Step 2, one CSI (CC), which will be a target for final transmission,among a plurality of CSIs (CCs) having the highest CSI type priority, issimply determined on the basis of the lowest cell index (lowestServCellIndex) only. Accordingly, it is likely that CSI loss may beincreased for CC having relatively high ServCellIndex in spite of thehigh CSI type priority. In this respect, in the same manner as thecondition of Step 2, this method suggests that a plurality of CSIs (fora plurality of CCs) are transmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3 at the sametime if the plurality of CSIs (CCs) have the highest CSI type priorityfor the CSI report subframe. If only one CSI (CC) has the highest CSItype priority for the CSI report subframe, the corresponding CSI (forCC) may only be transmitted using PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b.

Also, this method may be applied to a specific CSI type priority only.For example, if a plurality of CSIs (CCs) correspond to the first CSItypes for the CSI report subframe, the corresponding CSIs (for CCs) aretransmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3 at the same time. If not so, only oneCSI (for CC) determined on the basis of Step 1/2 may be transmittedusing the PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b. For another example, if a plurality ofCSIs (CCs) correspond to the first CSI type for the CSI report subframeor if a plurality of CSIs (CCs) correspond to the second CSI type andhave the highest priority, the corresponding CSIs (for CCs) may betransmitted using the PUSCH or PUCCHF3 at the same time. If not so, onlyone CSI (for CC) determined on the basis of Step 1/2 may be transmittedusing the PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b.

Method 4: Configuration of UL Channel/Format for CSI Report per CC

This method suggests that UL channel/format used for CSI report for eachCC is configured independently per CC. In more detail, whether CSI forcorresponding CC will be transmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3 or PUCCHformats 2/2a/2b may be configured independently for each CC through RRCsignaling. Through this configuration, CC group, which will be a targetfor CSI transmission based on PUSCH or PUCCHF3, will be referred to as“CSI group #1”. Similarly, CC group, which will be a target for CSItransmission based on the PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b, will be referred to as“CSI group #2”. In more detail, the base station may configure a properCSI report channel/format per CC (group) by considering similarity ofCSI feedback modes between CCs aggregated by the user equipment,similarity of CSI transmission period timing (for example, period,offset), priority for CSI protection between CCs. As the proper CSIreport channel/format is configured per CC (group), channel informationlack and scheduling restrictions, which are caused by frequent orunnecessary (or critical) CSI drop, may be reduced. Also, in view ofefficiency in use of resources, wasteful use (for example, large sizedPUSCH or PUCCHF3 is used unnecessarily even in case that CSItransmission for one CC is required) of PUSCH or PUCCHF3, which requiresrelatively much resource consumption, may be reduced.

Under the circumstances, if CSI transmission for one or more CCsbelonging to CSI group #1 is required for a specific subframe, CSI forall the corresponding CCs may be transmitted through the PUSCH orPUCCHF3. Also, if CSI transmission for one or more CCs belonging to CSIgroup #2 is required for a specific subframe, CSI for one CC, which isdetermined on the basis of Step 1/2 among the corresponding CCs, mayonly be transmitted through the PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b. Meanwhile, if CSItransmission for one or more CCs belonging to CSI group #1 and CSItransmission for one or more CCs belonging to CSI group #2 aresimultaneously required for a specific subframe, the followingoperations may be considered as the case may be.

Alt 1) CSI for all of the corresponding CC(s) belonging to CSI group #1and the corresponding CC(s) belonging to CSI group #2 is transmittedusing PUSCH or PUCCHF3.1

Alt 2) CSI for all of the corresponding CC(s) belonging to CSI group #1and CSI for one CC determined by Step 1/2 based on the correspondingCC(s) belonging to CSI group #2 are transmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3.

Alt 3) CSI for the CSI group #2 is dropped, and CSI for the CSI group #1is transmitted using PUSCH or PUCCHF3.

Alt 4) CSI for the CSI group #1 is dropped, and CSI for one CCdetermined on the basis of Step 1/2 for the CSI group #2 is onlytransmitted using the PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b.

Alt 4) CSI for one CC determined on the basis of Step 1/2 for all of theCSI group #1 and the CSI group #2 is only transmitted using the PUCCHformats 2/2a/2b.

Alt 1 may reduce possible CSI drop and thus may be useful in view of theaspect that channel information lack and scheduling restrictions may bereduced. Alt 2 or 3 reduces CSI drop and at the same time reduces asudden increase of a code rate of PUSCH or PUCCHF3, whereby Alt 2 or 3may be useful in view of CSI transmission performance. Alt 4 or 5 maymaintain CSI protection priority and at the same time reduce usefrequency of PUSCH or PUCCHF3 if possible, whereby Alt 4 or 5 may beuseful in view of efficiency in use of resources. Meanwhile, a pluralityof Alt methods may be defined, and whether any one of these methods willbe applied may be configured through RRC signaling.

Method 5: Simultaneous Transmission Method According to the Presence ofUL Data

It is considered that PUSCH is used for transmission of a plurality ofCSIs. In this case, the PUSCH means a channel which is previouslyallocated for transmission of a plurality of CSIs, and is identifiedfrom PUSCH allocated by the existing UL grant PDCCH. For convenience,the PUSCH allocated for transmission of a plurality of CSIs will bereferred to as PUSCH_CSI, and the PUSCH allocated by the UL grant PDCCHwill be referred to as PUSCH_UG. If there is no PUSCH_UG transmissionfor the CSI report subframe except for PUSCH_CSI and UL data to betransmitted exist, the following operation may be considered to reducedelay of UL data transmission.

i) In case of CSI 1-1 or CSI 2-1 (that is, if the number/amount of CSIsis more than the number/amount of minimum CSIs for simultaneoustransmission),

-   -   the corresponding CSI is only transmitted through PUSCH_CSI        regardless of the presence of UL data (if UL data exist,        transmission of the corresponding UL data is delayed).

ii) In case of CSI 1-2 or CSI 2-2 (that is, if the number/amount of CSIsis smaller than the number/amount of minimum CSIs for simultaneoustransmission), and if UL data do not exist,

-   -   the corresponding CSI is only transmitted through PUCCH formats        2/2a/2b, or all of the CSIs are dropped (in this case, separate        PUCCH format 2/2a/2b allocation may not be required).

iii) In case of CSI 1-2 or CSI 2-2, and if UL data exist, thecorresponding CSI and UL data are transmitted through PUSCH_CSI at thesame time.

Method 6: Simultaneous Transmission Method According to the Presence ofACK/NACK

It is considered that PUSCH is used for transmission of a plurality ofCSIs. In this case, the PUSCH means a channel which is previouslyallocated for transmission of a plurality of CSIs, and is identifiedfrom PUSCH allocated by the existing UL grant PDCCH. For convenience,the PUSCH allocated for transmission of a plurality of CSIs will bereferred to as PUSCH_CSI, and the PUSCH allocated by the UL grant PDCCHwill be referred to as PUSCH_UG. According to the related art, if theCSI transmission timing is the same as the ACK/NACK transmission timingand there is no PUSCH allocated for the corresponding subframe, CSI isdropped in accordance with UCI priority. In this method, if there is noPUSCH_UG transmission for the CSI report subframe except for PUSCH_CSIand ACK/NACK for DL data exists, the following operation may beconsidered to reduce loss caused by CSI drop.

i) In case of CSI 1-1 or CSI 2-1 (that is, if the number/amount of CSIsis more than the number/amount of minimum CSIs for simultaneoustransmission), and if ACK/NACK does not exist,

-   -   the corresponding CSI is only transmitted through PUSCH_CSI.

ii) In case of CSI 1-1 or CSI 2-1, and if ACK/NACK exists (that is, ifthe number/amount of CSIs is more than the number/amount of minimum CSIsfor simultaneous transmission and ACK/NACK exists),

-   -   the corresponding CSI and ACK/NACK are transmitted through        PUSCH_CSI at the same time.

iii) In case of CSI 1-2 or CSI 2-2 (that is, if the number/amount ofCSIs is smaller than the number/amount of minimum CSIs for simultaneoustransmission), and if ACK/NACK does not exist,

-   -   the corresponding CSI is only transmitted through PUCCH formats        2/2a/2b, or all of the CSIs are dropped (in this case, separate        PUCCH format 2/2a/2b allocation may not be required).

iv) In case of CSI 1-2 or CSI 2-2, and if ACK/NACK exists,

-   -   the corresponding CSI and ACK/NACK are transmitted through        PUSCH_CSI at the same time (at this time, if ACK/NACK for DL        data transmitted through PCC exists only, the CSI and the        ACK/NACK may be transmitted using the PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b, or        CSI may be dropped andACK/NACK may only be transmitted using the        PUCCH formats 1a/1b (in this case, separate PUCCH format 2/2a/2b        allocation may not be required).

Method 7: Simultaneous Transmission Method According to SR ReportSubframe

It is considered that PUSCH is used for transmission of a plurality ofCSIs. In this case, the PUSCH means a channel which is previouslyallocated for transmission of a plurality of CSIs, and is identifiedfrom PUSCH allocated by the existing UL grant PDCCH. For convenience,the PUSCH allocated for transmission of a plurality of CSIs will bereferred to as PUSCH_CSI, and the PUSCH allocated by the UL grant PDCCHwill be referred to as PUSCH_UG. According to the related art, if theCSI report subframe is overlapped with the SR report subframe, CSI isdropped in accordance with UCI priority. In this method, if the CSIreport subframe is overlapped with the SR subframe and there is noPUSCH_UG transmission for the corresponding time except for PUSCH_CSI,the following operation may be considered to reduce loss caused by CSIdrop.

i) In case of CSI 1-1 or CSI 2-1 (that is, if the number/amount of CSIsis more than the number/amount of minimum CSIs for simultaneoustransmission),

-   -   the corresponding CSI and 1-bit SR (negative/positive SR) are        transmitted through PUSCH_CSI at the same time.

ii) In case of CSI 1-2 or CSI 2-2 (that is, if the number/amount of CSIsis smaller than the number/amount of minimum CSIs for simultaneoustransmission),

-   -   the corresponding CSI and 1-bit SR are transmitted through PUCCH        formats 2/2a/2b at the same time, or CSI is dropped and 1-bit SR        is only transmitted using PUCCH format 1 (in this case, separate        PUCCH format 2/2a/2b allocation may not be required).

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of CSI report according tothe embodiment of the present invention when a plurality of carriers orcells are aggregated.

Referring to FIG. 17, a plurality of CCs (or cells) are configured for auser equipment (S1702), and a periodic CSI report mode is configuredindependently for each CC (for example, in accordance with transmissionmode) (S1704). If CSI report subframes are not overlapped with oneanother at the plurality of CCs (that is, if CSI transmission for one CCis only required for the corresponding subframe) (S1706), the CSI forthe corresponding CC is transmitted through the corresponding subframe(S1708). On the other hand, if the CSI report subframes are overlappedwith one another at the plurality of CCs (S1706), the user equipment maydetermine whether the CSI report status satisfies a predeterminedcondition (S1708). In this case, if the first condition is satisfied,the user equipment may report N (>1) number of CSIs for the plurality ofCCs (or cells) by using the first channel/format (S1712), and if thesecond condition is satisfied, the user equipment may report CSI for oneCC (or cell) by using the second channel/format or drop CSI for all ofthe CCs (or cells) (S1714). In this case, the first condition and thesecond condition are exemplary, and three or more conditions may beused. Also, the first channel/format may correspond to channel/format X,and the second channel/format may include the PUCCH formats 2/2a/2b.

For convenience, the description of the steps S1712 and S1714corresponds to the first example of the method 1. This is exemplary, andeach condition used in step S1710 and CSI report based on each conditionmay be varied depending on the description suggested in the methods 1 to7.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a base station and a user soequipment, which can be applied to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 18, the wireless communication system includes a basestation (BS) 110 and a user equipment (UE) 120. The base station 110includes a processor 112, a memory 114, and a radio frequency (RF) unit116. The processor 112 may be configured to implement procedures and/ormethods suggested in the present invention. The memory 114 is connectedwith the processor 112 and stores various kinds of information relatedto the operation of the processor 112. The RF unit 116 is connected withthe processor 112 and transmits and/or receives a radio signal. The userequipment 120 includes a processor 122, a memory 124, and a radiofrequency (RF) unit 126. The processor 122 may be configured toimplement procedures and/or methods suggested in the present invention.The memory 124 is connected with the processor 122 and stores variouskinds of information related to the operation of the processor 122. TheRF unit 126 is connected with the processor 122 and transmits and/orreceives a radio signal. The base station 110 and/or the user equipment120 may have a single antenna or multiple antennas.

The aforementioned embodiments are achieved by combination of structuralelements and features of the present invention in a predetermined type.Each of the structural elements or features should be consideredselectively unless specified separately. Each of the structural elementsor features may be carried out without being combined with otherstructural elements or features. Also, some structural elements and/orfeatures may be combined with one another to constitute the embodimentsof the present invention. The order of operations described in theembodiments of the present invention may be changed. Some structuralelements or features of one embodiment may be included in anotherembodiment, or may be replaced with corresponding structural elements orfeatures of another embodiment. Moreover, it will be apparent that someclaims referring to specific claims may be combined with another claimsreferring to the other claims other than the specific claims toconstitute the embodiment or add new claims by means of amendment afterthe application is filed.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described based onthe data transmission and reception between the base station and theuser equipment. A specific operation which has been described as beingperformed by the base station may be performed by an upper node of thebase station as the case may be. In other words, it will be apparentthat various operations performed for communication with the userequipment in the network which includes a plurality of network nodesalong with the base station may be performed by the base station ornetwork nodes other than the base station. The base station may bereplaced with terms such as a fixed station, Node B, eNode B (eNB), andaccess point. Also, the user equipment may be replaced with terms suchas mobile station (MS) and mobile subscriber station (MSS).

The embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented byvarious means, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or theircombination. If the embodiment according to the present invention isimplemented by hardware, the embodiment of the present invention may beimplemented by one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processingdevices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers,microprocessors, etc.

If the embodiment according to the present invention is implemented byfirmware or software, the embodiment of the present invention may beimplemented by a type of a module, a procedure, or a function, whichperforms functions or operations described as above. A software code maybe stored in a memory unit and then may be driven by a processor. Thememory unit may be located inside or outside the processor to transmitand receive data to and from the processor through various means whichare well known.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing fromthe spirit and essential characteristics of the invention. Thus, theabove embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention should be determined byreasonable interpretation of the appended claims and all change whichcomes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in thescope of the invention.

Industrial Applicability

The present invention may be used for a wireless communication devicesuch as a user equipment, a relay and a base station.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for reporting channel stateinformation (CSI) in a wireless communication system that supportscarrier aggregation, the method comprising: configuring a plurality ofdownlink component carriers (DL CCs); setting a CSI report modecorresponding to for a respective one of the plurality of DL CCs foreach DL CC; and performing an operation for transmitting CSI inaccordance with the CSI report mode set corresponding to each DL CC forthe respective one of the plurality of DL CCs, wherein, if a P-number ofCSIs overlap with one another for the same subframe and a firstcondition is satisfied, a Q-number of CSIs among the P-number of CSIsare transmitted through a first physical channel, and if the P-number ofCSIs overlap with one another for the same subframe and a secondcondition is satisfied, only an R-number of CSIs among the P-number ofCSI are transmitted through a second physical channel which is differentfrom the first physical channel, R being smaller than Q.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first condition includes that P isequal to or more than M, the second condition includes that P is lessthan M, P and Q are the same as each other, and M is a minimum number ofCSIs allowed for simultaneous transmission through the first physicalchannel.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first conditionincludes that P is more than L, the second condition includes that P isless than M, P is greater than Q, Q is the same as L, L is a maximumnumber of CSIs allowed for simultaneous transmission through the firstphysical channel, and M is a minimum number of CSIs allowed forsimultaneous transmission through the first physical channel.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the first condition includes that asize sum of the P number of CSIs is equal to or more than M, the secondcondition includes that a size sum of the P number of CSIs is less thanM, P is the same as Q, R is a number of CSIs, which has the highestpriority among the P number of CSIs and a size sum of CSIs of maximuminteger being equal to or less than S, M is a minimum size of CSIallowed for simultaneous transmission through the first physicalchannel, and S is an integer less than M determined in accordance withcapacity of the second physical channel.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the first condition includes that a size sum of the Pnumber of CSIs is more than L, the second condition includes that a sizesum of the P number of CSIs is less than M, P is greater than Q, Q is anumber of CSIs, which has the highest priority among the P number ofCSIs and a size sum of CSIs of maximum integer being equal to or lessthan L, R is a number of CSIs, which has the highest priority among theP number of CSIs and a size sum of CSIs of maximum integer being equalto or less than S, L is a maximum size of CSI allowed for simultaneoustransmission through the first physical channel, M is a minimum size ofCSI allowed for simultaneous transmission through the first physicalchannel, and S is an integer less than M determined in accordance withcapacity of the second physical channel.
 6. A communication apparatusconfigured to report channel state information (CSI) in a wirelesscommunication system that supports carrier aggregation, thecommunication apparatus comprising: a radio frequency (RF) unit; and aprocessor, wherein the processor configures a plurality of downlinkcomponent carriers (DL CCs), sets a CSI report mode corresponding to fora respective one of the plurality of DL CCs for each DL CC; and performsan operation for transmitting CSI in accordance with the CSI report modeset corresponding to each DL CC for the respective one of the pluralityof DL CCs, wherein, if a P-number of CSIs overlap with one another forthe same subframe and a first condition is satisfied, a Q-number of CSIsamong the P-number of CSIs are transmitted through a first physicalchannel, and if the P-number of CSIs overlap with one another for thesame subframe and a second condition is satisfied, only an R-number ofCSIs among the P-number of CSI are transmitted through a second physicalchannel which is different from the first physical channel, R beingsmaller than Q.
 7. The communication apparatus according to claim 6,wherein the first condition includes that P is equal to or more than M,the second condition includes that P is less than M, P and Q are thesame as each other, and M is a minimum number of CSIs allowed forsimultaneous transmission through the first physical channel.
 8. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the firstcondition includes that P is more than L, the second condition includesthat P is less than M, P is greater than Q, Q is the same as L, L is amaximum number of CSIs allowed for simultaneous transmission through thefirst physical channel, and M is a minimum number of CSIs allowed forsimultaneous transmission through the first physical channel.
 9. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the firstcondition includes that a size sum of the P number of CSIs is equal toor more than M, the second condition includes that a size sum of the Pnumber of CSIs is less than M, P is the same as Q, R is a number ofCSIs, which has the highest priority among the P number of CSIs and asize sum of CSIs of maximum integer being equal to or less than S, M isa minimum size of CSI allowed for simultaneous transmission through thefirst physical channel, and S is an integer less than M determined inaccordance with capacity of the second physical channel.
 10. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the firstcondition includes that a size sum of the P number of CSIs is more thanL, the second condition includes that a size sum of the P number of CSIsis less than M, P is greater than Q, Q is a number of CSIs, which hasthe highest priority among the P number of CSIs and a size sum of CSIsof maximum integer being equal to or less than L, R is a number of CSIs,which has the highest priority among the P number of CSIs and a size sumof CSIs of maximum integer being equal to or less than S, L is a maximumsize of CSI allowed for simultaneous transmission through the firstphysical channel, M is a minimum size of CSI allowed for simultaneoustransmission through the first physical channel, and S is an integerless than M determined in accordance with capacity of the secondphysical channel.